and tell him we love him. >> we had also seen reports that he may have asperger's or also attention deficit disorder, that he may have had a couple challenges like that. did you ever see anything like that? do you think -- how will that impact him here as he starts down this path of healing? >> well, i honestly believe that ethan will probably -- it's a shame that this had to happen but for any child that i believe will bounce back better than any child i know of, would be ethan. he meets no strangers and i just feel confident he's going to bounce back and we hope to have him in school as quickly as possible. >> so special that you say that. i want to ask you a little about his mother. you just heard me share the statement that she released to the media which was so eloquent and gracious. she also, according to a state senator, said this when the fbi, they were debating whether to go in and kill jimmy lee dykes earlier. she was the one, according to the state senator who said she put her hand on the officer's heart and said sir, don't hurt him, he's sick. smith told that today to abc news.